Google Pixel Review

After sort of testing the waters with the Google Nexus phones, Google finally unleashed the Pixel. While the Nexus Phones were essentially co-branded phones with brands like LG and Huawei, the Pixel is all Google. The Pixel is actually built by HTC; it’s a full circle for HTC that began as a Contract manufacturer. We’ve spent a month with the Google Pixel XL, the taller of the Pixel siblings. Enough time to figure where the Pixel outshines the iPhone:

Shot on the Pixel (Golden Wood resort, Sakleshpur)

Google Assistant: is all Siri could have been. No, it’s not light years ahead of Siri but is certainly at least a year ahead. More intuitive with sharper hearing (!) skills. It’s not just the voice recognition that’s better. A quick swipe from the home screen takes you straight to the Google Assistant world. You’ll be surprised (or maybe you won’t!) how much Google knows about all the stuff you like and keeps throwing up relevant nuggets of information.

Shot on the Pixel (At Kormangala Social, Bangalore)

The camera: a 12MP cam (Sony IMX 378 sensor) that fires on all cylinders. We loved the results on the iPhone 7 & 7Plus but the Pixel edges the 7; by a whisker. Great images in multiple lighting scenarios. A clutter-free camera interface and the use of HDR+ that cleverly blends multiple underexposed frames into one terrific picture.

Shot on Pixel (Manjarabad Fort, Sakleshpur, Karnataka)

The battery: an easy win for the Google Pixel. The iPhone 7 didn’t quite fix our biggest gripe about the iPhone – battery life. The 2770 mAh battery on the Pixel outperforms the iPhone 7 on the battery front. The results of the Pixel XL vs the iPhone 7 Plus are not a big win for Google though. However the Pixel XL charges much faster than the 7 Plus.

Google Photos: it’s the Instagram and foodporn era and pictures occupy most of the onboard memory of our smartphones. The Pixel might not have expandable memory but more than compensates with unlimited cloud storage on Google Photos. That’s something that 5GB of free space on iCloud can’t compete with.

Image courtesy – Google

The display: on paper the display specs (441 PPI for the Pixel vs. 326 for the iPhone 7) of the Pixel completely overshadow the iPhone. It’s not a huge difference in the real world although the Pixel clearly has a more vibrant display and everything looks sharper on this device.

So are we recommending the Pixel over the iPhone 7? Not quite. It’s still an ecosystem choice – iOS vs. Android. Is the Pixel the best Android device out there? Arguably. We still think the Samsung S7 offers better value at its current price tag. At Rs 57,000 for the 32GB, the Pixel doesn’t come cheap but is a killer device.